For those wanting a united country....

[BlackVelvet04]

what are you willing to compromise on?

Abortion rights?
Gay marriage?
Perpetual war against terror?
Government wire tapping?
Gitmo?
Torture?

Just what are you willing to compromise with the republicans on?

[Critters2]

1. This is the question that must be asked.

Thank you!!

[Parche]

10. Attack repeat Attack

Never surrender to the pubes..................NEVER

:hi:

[BlackVelvet04]

13. AMEN N/T

[Critters2]

18. Pubes!!!

Parche!!

[Parche]

21. where is your finger thingy

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :hi:

[BlackVelvet04]

80. I haven't seen a lot of willingness for compromise....

have you?

[calico1]

2. Thank you! n/t

[BlackVelvet04]

27. thank YOU.....

I haven't seen any compromises forthcoming, have you?

[FrenchieCat]

3. not compromise, but persuasion.......

because that is the art of politics.

[BlackVelvet04]

9. If you REALLY think Obama is going to

persuade the radical religious right to back off you are seriously deluded.

So, you aren't willing to compromise because you are banking on getting the republicans to do what you want? LOL

[SammyWinstonJack]

12. ...

:eyes: Amazing.

[BlackVelvet04]

19. And they wonder why we think they are

under the influence of fairy dust.

[Metric System]

20. Persuasion?

:rofl:

Seriously?

Do you really think the Rethugs will give into civil unions for gays, stem cell research, abortion rights, etc, etc, and piss off their base? How will President Obama persuade the GOP to give up the "values" that are core to their party and base? Seriously, I'm interested in knowing how this will be done.

[Critters2]

22. Hope. Change. Ride the wave.

Stop asking questions!!

[in_cog_ni_to]

40. They'll never give you an answer because they know there is no answer to this question.

The repukes will NEVER play nice with Barack. EVER. The sad thing is, he's so naive, he actually thinks they will and so do his supporters.

[jackson_dem]

51. lol yup

[Andy823]

31. "IF" Obama became president

The repbug are going to do everything they can to crush him so they can take over after his first 4 years. They are "not" going to work with him, and they will try and lay the blame for the terrible economy, the war, and everything else on him.

How good did he do as a senator in using "persuasion" on the republicans to work together?

[EV_Ares]

33. Persuasion can be as effective as compromise and more in certain cases.

It is a matter of who has the art of persuasion.

[BlackVelvet04]

44. Not everybody gets all tingly and goosebumpy

when Obama speaks. I'm not trying to be nasty here, what I want to know is WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO COMPROMISE ON? Persuasion to our point of view isn't going to work.

[in_cog_ni_to]

49. Only with SANE people and repukes are NOT sane people.

We have just had a 7+ year example of how they cannot be "persuaded" to do anything. How many more years do we need for people to know they are insane? Honestly.

[EV_Ares]

69. worked just as well as compromise didn't it, eom Tell me what your compromises did

so well. Also, I am not saying compromise doesn't work because it does and is the best in probably some cases but for you to reticule "the art of persuasion" shows you lack in persuasion skills so easier to understand your slamming persuasion.

In the end, both work and you use what will work best in whatever the situation is.

[mopinko]

34. psst-

can you say- mandate? this calculus is about to become completely outdated, anyway.

[jackson_dem]

48. Obama is going to persuade them to erase their entire platform! All hail Barack Moses!

[in_cog_ni_to]

57. Bwahahahahaha.....They have HOPE though.

:eyes:

[NMMNG]

4. Not a damn thing.

[Jamastiene]

8. You beat me to it.

There is no compromising with Republicans. They will screw us royally if we fall for that "across the aisle" shit as they always have. Some people never learn, do they? :eyes:

[BlackVelvet04]

23. Reach across the aisle to the republicans

and you will pull back a nub.

Do Obama supporters think he has some magical power that will make republicans roll over and capitulate? Obviously they haven't thought about what kind of compromises would be required to "unite".

[Critters2]

28. That seems to be exactly what they think.

Talk about drinking the kool-aid!

[iris5426]

exactly.

[NMMNG]

46. Exactly

Look who has been on the losing end of our attempts to "compromise" with them for the past 7 years. That would be.....US.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

5. I don't want a united country unless it means PUKES capitulaing to Democrats.

[BlackVelvet04]

11. Do you think Obama can make that happen?

I don't.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

25. hell no

[BlackVelvet04]

55. Me either. n/t

[Whisp]

14. vice versie is whats coming down.

how have the repukes ever changed their message?
Dems have.

[in_cog_ni_to]

41. THANK YOU! It's time to FIGHT BACK. Enough is enough. n/t

[rodeodance]

6. Repugs are going to unit--even as Pelosi plays the game.

[Jed Dilligan]

7. I want a united country

between 1/5 and 1/10 the size of the one I live in.

:shrug:

[cooolandrew]

15. It's more about the nation co-existing than political compromise. nt

[BlackVelvet04]

29. NO it isn't.....

how's that working now? What makes you think Obama can make us co-exist better? Is he endowed with super mind controlling powers?

Come on, now. If you're going to support him support him for something he can do.

[JeffR]

16. No, no, no, no, no and no

To take your questions in order.

It's a pipe-dream to believe these barbarians will compromise on anything. Their ranks must be weakened to the point where all their resistance simply doesn't matter. That's the only way anything is going to get done.

[THUNDER HANDS]

17. the question is, what are they willing to compromise on?

[BlackVelvet04]

32. Nothing....

there idea of bipartisanship is for the Dems to give them what they want. Have you not observed ANYTHING in the last 7 years?

[redqueen]

36. Bipartisanship = Date Rape...

they frickin come out and tell us, and still some want to believe otherwise.

:banghead:

[fenriswolf]

24. nothing we need to reframe all of these

and show people that these as a country we do not make laws for exceptions

"america does not torture except in case....."
"america sees all human beings as equal except....."
"america believe in peace except when...."

[BlackVelvet04]

68. I have no idea what you are trying to say. n/t

[Kutjara]

26. Unity requires common ground.

I have no common ground with Republicans. I despise everything they stand for. If unity required compromise on the issues you mention, I'd prefer the country be smashed up into two or more independent nations.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

30. You're setting up a false dichotomy

Uniting the country doesn't have to mean compromising on progressive issues. Poll after poll shows overwhelming support for all progressive economic positions, and many social and national security/foreign policy ones (when they are explained to people in the right way). What is needed is an effective message to unite the country behind them. Like it or not, we progressives haven't done that.

[BlackVelvet04]

38. Oh....so you just explain it better

Do you think if you explain nicely to Jerry Falwell why the constitution is for homosexuals as well as heterosexuals he will just slap his forehead in dismay that he never got that before? Or how about explaining to Pat Robertson that women's bodies belong to them and thus they should be the only ones making decisions about their reproduction? You think the Sean Hannities and Rush Limbaughs of this country will get it because Obama says it better?

WHAT FRIGGIN' PLANET DO YOU LIVE ON?

[GoldieAZ49]

58. who are these guys

Jerry Falwell
Pat Robertson
(didn't one of them die recently?)
Sean Hannities and Rush Limbaughs are entertainment show hosts

The are not the POTUS, or in congress, they are not the lawmakers.

If both sides are working together toward middle ground hatemongers are out of business.

It is the divisiveness that gives them a paycheck!

[BlackVelvet04]

66. You're right....

Falwell's son. Sorry about that.

Do you really think the right is going to work toward middle ground? When have they demonstrated a willingness to do that? John McCain's talking about us being in Iraq for 120 years. What's middle ground to THAT?

[GoldieAZ49]

81. the far right and the far left no

but those in the middle can work together and at least have civil discussions and find compromise.

My Dad served in Korea and we are still there.
We are still in Germany.
But we are not "at war" in either.

how are we going to get good intel if we don't have anyone in the region?

[in_cog_ni_to]

67. Falwell died, but they DO have access to the WH. They have "prayers" every day in the WH. They

control the repuke party. Hannity and Limpballs are not just entertainment show hosts. They are just another arm of the repuke party. They are connected to the party more than you want to know....apparently. They get the repuke memos on a daily basis. These people can NEVER be trusted and they will NEVER give up on their hateful agenda just because Barack wants them to play nice with him.

[BlackVelvet04]

73. Not to mention the dominionists that have gained

access to the government.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

74. Jerry Falwell is dead so it's kinda hard to explain anything to him right now

Anyway, he's not who I mean when I talk about "the people". Neither are Hannity, Limbaugh, or Robertson, all of whom I believe to be crass opportunists cashing in on the VWRC.

Oh, and I live on this planet. I'm also very politically active and talk to a lot of, you know, voters. Most of whom don't have the foggiest notion about what's going on. That's why it's easy for Hannity or Robertson to scare enough of them about terra! or Teh Gayz! And while this is happening, what are we doing? Engaging in the circular firing squad over which candidate fails the Perfect Progressive litmus test the worst.

[noiretextatique]

43. let's not forget the "liberal" media

that tends to frame progressive issues as radical. how do you get a progressive message across with a hostile media? obama hasn't convinced me he can do that.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

76. Well, ask all the DUers who think the media is fawning over Obama

If he remains as popular and well-liked as he is now, he may - I'm just saying may I can't guarantee it - get the message across.

[calmblueocean]

70. Yes yes yes

It's too bad so many here can't see this.

[Metric System]

35. What I want to know is, why are the Dems seemingly so interested in playing

nice and acting so conciliatory after the last 8 years we've had to endure?!? Do you see the Rethugs picking a candidate in the hope that he'll be liked by us? So why are we picking a candidate based on how much the other side will like our choice?!? It's absolutely delusional to think the Rethugs will play nice with President Obama or any Dem President, and to think otherwise is naive at best and dangerous at worst. Do Obama supporters really believe that the division in Washington comes down to a family feud between the Clintons and Bushes, and that by kicking both to the curb an era of by-partisanship will magically begin?!? The Rethugs have mercilessly attacked Carter, Mondale, Clinton, Gore and Kerry- do you really think they'll go easy this time around? Ugh!

[redqueen]

39. Very good questions! (nt)

[Triana]

37. We're ALREADY "UNITED"

...in that NONE of us have any voice in our government. And when JRE says "Your voice will be heard" - then THAT is what I want.

We HAVE "Unity" - we NEED to be HEARD.

[GoldieAZ49]

42. lets see compromise

Abortion rights - no partial birth
Gay marriage - Civli Unions
Perpetual war against terror - targeted. based on actionable intel
Government wire tapping - with judicial approval
Gitmo - possible options need to be discussed, but relocation not on US soil
Torture - No

not so difficult

[noiretextatique]

47. there is no such thing as parital birth abortion

so, to compromise on that issue is to give in to a complete rw wacko fantasy. and endanger women's lives.

those who oppose gay marriage will not compromise on civil unions.

terrorism..HA! right.

wiretapping...possible, but why compromise on that?

gitmo...again...why compromise?

torture...ah, depends on what the definition of torture is.

[BlackVelvet04]

52. Well, at least you seem to be willing to

compromise. So far you are the only one.

Abortion rights - no partial birth So women aren't really in charge of their reproductive rights?

Gay marriage - civil unions Equal but not equal is ok with you?

Perpetual war against terror - targeted. based on actionable intel Yeah, the intel has proven to be so good.

Government wire tapping - with judicial approval That would be ok if we could trust law enforcement to tell the truth.

Gitmo - possible options need to be discussed, but relocation not on US soil Holding people without charging them and without benefit of counsel is ok as long as it's not on US soil?

[GoldieAZ49]

72. compromise ON Both sides

compromise. So far you are the only one.

Abortion rights - no partial birth So women aren't really in charge of their reproductive rights?
by the 8th month they have already exercised their choice.

Gay marriage - civil unions Equal but not equal is ok with you?
Nothing is better?

Perpetual war against terror - targeted. based on actionable intel Yeah, the intel has proven to be so good.
Yeah that has to be much better, but I don't want to live like Israel either

Government wire tapping - with judicial approval That would be ok if we could trust law enforcement to tell the truth.
I agree, trust until given a reason not to, and prosecution of those that break the law

Gitmo - possible options need to be discussed, but relocation not on US soil Holding people without charging them and without benefit of counsel is ok as long as it's not on US soil?
No, they would have to be charged and given representation but not as US citizens and not in US prisons. The risks to the people in our prison system would be to great...it is bad enough now

[BlackVelvet04]

77. I don't agree....

Abortion rights - no partial birth So women aren't really in charge of their reproductive rights?
by the 8th month they have already exercised their choice. No they haven't...it's a medical decision

Gay marriage - civil unions Equal but not equal is ok with you?
Nothing is better? That seems to be the attitude of the GLBT community, but I could be wrong.

Perpetual war against terror - targeted. based on actionable intel Yeah, the intel has proven to be so good.
Yeah that has to be much better, but I don't want to live like Israel either How are you going to insure it's better? The CIA doesn't have the best track record.

Government wire tapping - with judicial approval That would be ok if we could trust law enforcement to tell the truth.
I agree, trust until given a reason not to, and prosecution of those that break the law They break that trust every day of the week.

Gitmo - possible options need to be discussed, but relocation not on US soil Holding people without charging them and without benefit of counsel is ok as long as it's not on US soil?
No, they would have to be charged and given representation but not as US citizens and not in US prisons. The risks to the people in our prison system would be to great...it is bad enough now I don't think you could get a compromise on that

[bluethruandthru]

45. What are they willing to compromise with US on?

Funny how you don't hear their candidates..even the ones who say "Washington is broken"...saying anything about reaching out and working with the Democrats! They would never do it since they've painted us as evil for too many years.

[redqueen]

50. That SHOULD BE kind of a hint... a warning sign... alas. (nt)

[jackson_dem]

53. DING DING! It takes two to unite and they don't want to

[Senator]

54. Unity Through Impeachment

Yes, I said reunite our once-great nation (and the Democratic Party) with impeachment.

Why do you think the dividers inside the beltway (of both parties) are panic-stricken over it?

---

[Krashkopf]

59. Here, here!

"Impeach. Prosecute. Save America." -- Naomi Wolf

[BlackVelvet04]

60. Sure...

that'll work because it worked so well with Nixon. The republicans waited a long time for payback and they got it.

[jody]

56. IMO compromise cannot be reached on at least two items on your list, abortion rights & gay marriage.

If someone believes abortion is either criminal or a sin or both, then pro-choice is not an option for them.

If someone believes marriage is strictly a union between man and woman, compromise is not an option for them.

The issue is complicated when taxes are used to fund a government program, e.g. requiring taxpayers who oppose abortion to pay taxes to be used for abortions in government programs.

Another example is requiring taxpayers who are conscientious objectors in the purest sense to pay taxes that will be used for military purposes to kill others.

There are perhaps a dozen or so divisive issues for which compromise IMO cannot be reached. Each of those divisive issues has a loyal following of several percent and together may be 30% or more.

Rove learned that early on and used divisive, uncompromisable issues to get Bush into the White House twice.

That's modern politics.

[BlackVelvet04]

63. EXACTLY....

and that is why nobody, including Obama, is going to unite this country.

[Maven]

61. What I resent most is Obama and his supporters implying

that Democrats have been half the problem for the last 15 years. It's almost as though they just arrived here from another planet and see a bunch of people fighting without any knowledge of the backstory.

Your post is a succinct and telling illustration of why "unity" and "reaching out" as a platform is an expedient lie.

[BlackVelvet04]

64. Thank you. n/t

[jody]

75. IMO Dems have been willing to compromise, e.g. pro-choice but Repugs counter with pro-life. How can

government reach a compromise with those two positions? :shrug:

On the other hand, the Dem party platform says "We will protect Americans' Second Amendment right to own firearms, and we will keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists by fighting gun crime, reauthorizing the assault weapons ban, and closing the gun show loophole, as President Bush proposed and failed to do." See http://www.democrats.org/pdfs/2004platform.pdf

But a few Dem Senators use their star power to demand laws that ban handguns or all guns leaving many voters with the wrong impression that we Democrats are gun-grabbers.

Bill Clinton said Gore's perceived gun-grabber image cost him the presidency and other Dem leaders believe Kerry's perceived gun-grabber image lost him the election.

How can the Dem party position that can be called "pro-choice on guns" be compromised with a minority of Dems who demand that handguns or all guns be banned?

[BlackVelvet04]

78. Good question...

that I as a gun owner would like answered.

[Yanez Houston Jordan]

62. Maybe we can just vote "present" on all those divisive issues ....

[BlackVelvet04]

65. LOL.....

if only the republicans would.

[BlackVelvet04]

71. To answer my own question....

I'm not willing to compromise on any of those.

In addition, I'm not willing to compromise on:
War in Iraq
Pharmacists refusing to fill birth control pill prescriptions
Vouchers for religious schools
Universal health care
Tax equity for the poor and middle classes

[jody]

84. I agree in principle but none of those items are "natural, inherent, inalienable/unalienable rights"

that government is supposed to protect unless there is an overwhelming social Government benefit.

Government is supposed to protect certain rights enumerated in the BOR or unenumerated and protected by the Ninth Amendment.

Each citizen gave up some of his/her sovereignty to a state and later to the United States but with the caveat that some rights were not to be intruded upon by government.

That protects a minority against the tyranny of a simple majority.

Part of the issue is each of us pay taxes that are used to fund programs that we don't like and not fund programs that we want.

As many have said, the United States is a great experiment to see whether people of such diversity can live in harmony.

As bad as things are, more people want to come to the U.S. than any other country and immigrant numbers far exceed emigrant numbers.

I believe the UK has a serious emigrant problem supposedly caused by its immigrant policies.

[Senator]

87. Sure...

...but what are you willing to DO about it?

Failure to impeach IS compromise. In fact, it's permanent exoneration for the regime.

Some of us are fighting to avoid that.

---

[adapa]

79. none of those issues are important when you are inspired by a talker

[BlackVelvet04]

82. I must be out of that loop......

these issues are pretty important to me. You?

[adapa]

85. I should have use the scarcasum smiley

With all the talk of racism & much less of sexism, the thing that's getting lost is the very important issues you bring up.
I much rather hear someone talking about a how their gonna fix heathcare or Iraq/Afghanistan then inspire me to believe the country can be great again. I guess I'm just to cynical to be a democrat.

[BlackVelvet04]

93. Ok...

got ya! Thanks.

[BlackVelvet04]

83. NOBODY ELSE WILLING TO COMPROMISE? n/t

[jody]

86. Why don't you run for congress and I'll volunteer to work on your staff? n/t

[BlackVelvet04]

94. LOL thanks for the offer but I'm

way too undiplomatic and untactful.

[goodhue]

88. And all that stuff is where? Behind curtain 2?

I'll buy it, but I'm not certain who is selling.

[BlackVelvet04]

96. Huh? n/t

[gulliver]

89. It's just not going to happen. You've got 25% of the people...

...on the right who will never climb down from supporting Bush. There is no compromising with them, only beating them and taking away their power. The sad part is that they will benefit from Dem policies, and continue to bite the hand that feeds them and lick the boot that kicks them.

[cd3dem]

90. I'm willing to compromise on the same things the republicans are.... nothing!

[Metric System]

91. What annoys me about the Obama supporters is that they claim they want to feel good again and forget

about the problems of the last 8 years. Well, how nice! If only all of life's dilemma could solve themselves so easily. I think I would worry more about how the world feels about the US at this point in history than how the US feels about itself. It's all ME, ME, ME! No wonder Oprah's tied in with Obama because it's the same sort of naval-gazing, feel-good-without-the-consequences (free cars for everyone!) bullshit she peddles on her show daily.

[BlackVelvet04]

95. Maybe their theme song could be

"Don't worry, Be Happy".

[varelse]

92. None of the above

Nor do I want to see any "reaching across the aisle" on the issue of privatization of public resources or government-supported infrastructure (roads, schools, fire depts, police, or the military). Oh yeah and while we're at it, let's not export any more jobs or undermine our workforce any further by importing cheap substitutes for our own qualified workers.

Thanks for listening ;)